Enlightenment
by Dying Grin
Summary: Enlightenment; the act of achieving self-realization and ones true self. In this tale Tien Shinhan, in his fight against Nappa, ascends to a power that changes the course of Dragon Ball Z history. Watch as one of the Z-fighters keep pace with the Saiyans.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: A new story about what if one of the Humans could keep up with the Saiyans.

Chiaotzu's final departing words rang through the bloody Triclops ears as he watched through slitted eyes as he watched his oldest friend sacrifice himself as he hung onto the bald Saiyan warriors back. He heard the explosion and saw the smoke covering the area where the Saiyan and the doll-like human used to be.

"No" he whispered hoarsely in shock as he stared at the air "you can't be gone". His remaining hand formed into a fist as he gripped the dirt and tears dripped down Tien Shinhan's face as he let himself grieve despite his old masters teachings.

His head snapped up from where he laid on the ground when he heard a familiar bellow of laughter.

The bald Nappa floated in the air above the Z-fighters, virtually unscathed from Chiaotzu's suicidal attack...and of course Chiaotzu himself was now in Other World.

He felt his blood boil when he saw the two Saiyans laughing over the matter of his friends noble sacrifice. He allowed himself to remember Master Shen's lesson on emotions in battle.

_Tien howled as he hit the ground again and again. His body was caked in sweat and dried blood, one of his eyes were swollen shut and a myriad of bruises coated his body. He tried to pull himself up with his left arm but cried out in pain. They had broken it._

_His Master Shen and his brother Tao continued to circle him as he used his other arm to get back to his feet. His master Shen had went into a monologue about how he was the last of his people and he had to use his anger in battle but again he had found himself on the ground. _

_It would take a long time for the message to sink in that only anger was any use in battle, grief had no place on the field of battle._

He gritted his teeth as he forced his upper body off the ground and then his legs. Gohan gasped and ran to help him, supporting him by his good arm. "Mister Tien you're alive" the boy said in relief. He threw the boy off when he felt he could stand on his lonesome.

His body shook slightly in exhaustion and he felt dizzy from blood loss, he glanced down at his right arm and the stump that ended halfway down and stopped himself from gagging.

The stump was still gushing out blood and the bone was visible, along with a variety of veins that hung limp in the opening. He guessed he had around 10 minutes left before he bled to death.

"I'm coming Chiaotzu" he whispered softly as a white aura that leached his very life force blossomed to life around him. It was called enlightenment. It was the pivotal changing point in the battle

It was rumoured that in the past the Triclops's of the human race could use a powerful power- up known as enlightenment and made them far stronger but was known as having a high fatality rate.

Before the Saiyan Raditz had arrived Tien had confided in Chiaotzu that he was close to achieving the form of his peoples legends but that he didn't have the necessary emotional boost needed to reach enlightenment . But now he realized he had achieved enlightenment,how he didn't care and at the moment it wasn't a big concern for the Triclops.

The shorter Saiyan abruptly stopped laughing as his scouter beeped and the Saiyan paled but his ally Nappa's scouter was broken and so did not notice the power.

"N...N...Nappa" he said in shock but the princes voice was lost over the larger aliens laughing.

Tien roared in anger and threw his remaining arm forward " Tri Beam- HAA" He screamed as the yellow energy blasted from the Triclops's hand. Too late the giant brute turned and stared in shock at the awesome attack coming towards him, he didn't need his scouter to know the attack was powerfulT

"Nappa" the previous calm and collected Vegeta roared " dodge the blast, his power level his over 9000!". But the Ex-General of the Saiyan Army was too slow to react and the yellow blast hit the brute head on. The remaining Z-fighters looked at Tien in shock and awe as the human collapsed to the ground.

"I'm coming Chiaotzu" he smiled in happiness as he saw his attack devour Nappa and he began slipping into unconsciousness, the last thing he heard as his head hit the ground was Piccolo shouting something about giving him a Senzu Bean. Images of him and Chiaotzu flashed through his mind as he succumbed to the darkness.

-line break-

The first thing he felt when he awoke was the feeling of dirt in his mouth and the second thing being two colossal power levels fighting close-by. He rolled so he faced the sky. By the position of the sun in the sky it seemed he was out for only two hours.

Obviously Piccolo or one of the others had a Senzu Bean on them, this was further proven by the fact he had two fully intact arms. He felt completely refreshed and pulled himself upwards, he did a quick handstand and then flipped into a standing position.

The next thing he saw made him gasp in horror. There lay the unmoving bodies of Krillin and Piccolo and an unconscious but bloody Gohan. He rose into the air and flew towards the two men fighting high in the air. Goku and Vegeta fought in the air both bloody and tired, Vegeta's tail was burnt and singed and also his blood red scouter was missing for his face..

Tien phased behind Vegeta and used Multiform to split himself into four people. Simultaneously all four fired a silent Dodan Ray. The attack blasted the Prince of all Saiyans into Goku's fist and then into a cliff below.

As the cliff crashed to the ground Tien,now back in one piece nodded at Goku who grinned back at him despite the tense situation. "Hey" the earth raised Saiyan greeted " I've got a technique that can bet him, I need about five minutes so can you fight him for me?".

Tien nodded slowly and blasted down towards the enemy, while Goku rose into the air and raised his hands above "Earth please lend me your energy" Goku called out, not speaking to anyone on the battle field but rather the entire earth as if they could hear him.

Tien was being pounded by the flame haired Saiyan and it was clear he need to gain enlightenment to beat him. He was uneasy to use it knowing how draining the transformation was on his body. But the Triclops needed the energy. He flew backwards and used his Domination Blast to fire a flurry of blasts of ki to force his opponent to the ground. He used his Solar Flare to buy himself more time and began to power-up, while thinking of Chiaotzu.

Twenty second later the brilliant white aura burst to life around him as he panted. Below him the Saiyan erupted to full power and blasted upwards to meet Tien in battle while above him Goku continued to gather energy from all corners of the world. The final chapter in the fight for Earth was about to begin.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: Sorry about the delay guys..my computer is broken and I had to write this on paper and than transfer it to my Dad's computer in half an hour to post. So sorry for any grammar mistakes.

The two warriors clashed in midair and began to rain blows on each other, forgoing their ki for their fists. It was clear to Tien that Vegeta still had the upper hand, even in his new transformation. After only a few seconds of battle he barely gotten any hits in but his enemy made every punch he fired hit it's intended target...Tien.

He coughed up blood as the Saiyan Prince ploughed his fist deep into Tien's stomach. Tien barely saw the next attack, which consisted of a quick ki blast to the Triclop's face and then a high kick to Tien's bald head. The attack sent him spiralling to one of the mountains far below.

He turned himself in midair and landed on one of the many plateaus below, dust bellowing out around him as his feet made contact with the rocky platform. He heard a mocking laugh coming from the azure sky above him, but Tien gritted his teeth and ignored it.

"To think Kakarot believed you would be able to hold me Prince of all Saiyans off" the Saiyan gloated "I guess it's time to finish things Baldy".

Tien's mind raced as he tried to formulate a plan that would prolong this mockery of a fight so that Goku could play his trump card. An idea clicked within his mind and the Z-fighter smiled.

"GALICK GUN" Vegeta screamed, throwing his hands out in front of him, a giant purple beam of energy erupting from the white gloved hands. The Saiyan laughed when Tien, who seemed frozen in fear was consumed by his attack.

Tien slammed his fists down on Vegeta's head, sending the dumbstruck warrior to the remains of the plateau below. "Ever hear of the after-image technique Saiyan?" he called down, relishing in his small victory. He quickly flew down and further stunned his adversary by silently splitting into four forms using his Multiform technique.

Then in unison all four Tien's used the Four Witches technique, a new pair of arms bursting to life from below the shoulder blades. Vegeta who had obviously been trained to adapt to situations quickly tried to fight back, but there was little he could do against sixteen arms coming at him in a blur.

After about a minute Tien reverted back to one and rose above his bloody opponent, Vegeta's armour and spandex were torn in many places and the bloody Saiyan looked like was having trouble standing.

"Dodonray" Tien roared, firing the yellow beam at the Saiyan Prince's chest. The alien stumbled but did not fall. Vegeta's black eyes promised pain and death as the Saiyan began to recover from his beating. Tien shot up into the air where Goku was gathering a giant ball of ki.

"Tien...thanks" Goku spoke " I think I'm nearly ready to fire". Before Tien could respond a blast of energy smashed into Goku's chest. Tien watched in horror as his friend was thrown back and the attack he had been charging was flung to the ground, harmlessly exploding in the dirt.

Tien twisted his body to dodge the next blast and turned to face his opponent again. "Damn you Saiyan scum" Tien growled in frustration, wondering how Vegeta had recovered enough already to fly. The Saiyan was chuckling darkly, nearly outright laughing at the failure of Goku's attack.

"Goku come on, together we can beat him" Tien called over his shoulder.

"Nah, Tien two on one is mean" Tien gaped at his allies response.

"What!" he roared back "Goku the fate of Earth hangs in the balance, I don't care if you think it's mean as I doubt I can stay in this new form for much longer, so we don't have time for another charge up attack...I need your help and damn it this man beat up your son, isn't that mean"?

Before Goku could decide on a course of action Tien found himself hurtling down to the ground below, courtesy of a sucker punch from the Saiyan Prince. Tien redirected his flight and returned to the fight to catch the end of an insult from Vegeta to Goku.

"- And then after killing the half breed I'm going to take your mate with me and f-" Vegeta was shut up mid-speech by a barrage of punches from Goku. The Earth-Raised Saiyan than flew backwards and snarled at Vegeta.

"KAIO-KEN TIMES THREE" Goku screamed as a red aura erupted around him, completely engulfing the Z-fighter. Tien's jaw dropped at Goku's power continued to rise and rise, seemingly endless. Goku and Vegeta both prepared their favourite attacks.

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

"GALICK GUN!".

Tien blasted to Goku's side and using the very last dregs of his Enlightenment power he fired his favourite end-a-fight attack.

"TRI-BEAM HAA!".

The gold and azure coloured blasts began to dominate the Prince of all Saiyans Byzantium coloured attack. Vegeta continued to insult them until the end. The resulting explosion was massive, they heard a distant scream of rage as the Saiyan was catapulted to the heavens above. Tien panted as the white aura that surrounded him dimmed and died, beside him Goku also returned to his norm and then there was a few second silence.

Then Goku began to laugh, uncontrollable gut-wrenching laughter wracked the Earth-Raised Saiyans body and Tien realised he too had began to laugh. The two Z-fighters leaned on each other to support themselves in midair, their battered bodies shaking with laughter. Laughing at the simple fact that they were alive and that the Earth was safe once again.

After a few seconds Tien gathered his wits again and fumbled around in the remnants of his green gi for his one senzu bean, He, Chiaotzu, Yamcha and Krillin had taken a senzu each to the battle. He found it after a few seconds and flung it at Goku ,who caught it instinctively and looked at Tien in question. "For Gohan" Tien said and instantly Goku's face hardened. Goku nodded, flying down to his son's broken body.

A few seconds later Gohan awoke and the father and son were reunited in a flurry of hugs, laughter and tears. Tien watched this in silence and thought of Chiaotzu "I'm sorry little buddy" Tien whispered "I'll always remember you Chiaotzu...always". He was drawn out of his musings when a certain Saiyan Prince crashed to the ground below him.

He flew down to the Saiyan, who was already laying face down in a vastly spreading pool of blood. "You deserved the pain Vegeta...Chiaotzu sacrificed himself in battle and you just laughed!" his sentence ended in a shout, he kicked the carcass in the gut and watched as it landed further away from Tien. He turned away and was about to walk away when the dead body groaned in pain.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Note; So now we have reached the last of the chapters I have written on paper and I must began writing anew. In this chapter the fight against the Saiyan Prince takes a drastic turn.

Tien could only watch in shock and horror as Vegeta opened his eyes and tried to stand back up, how could Vegeta still be alive? Goku and Gohan were still unaware of this new event and Tien turned and roared "Goku, Vegeta isn't dead"!

Goku's head snapped towards Tien and he yelled back "Tien watch out"! Tien turned around only to be sent flying by a punch from the Saiyan Prince. Tien rose back to his feet and in his peripheral vision saw Goku and Gohan racing towards him. But Tien was focused on his opponent .

Vegeta was laughing quietly and his laughter seemed to have a tinge of hysteria to it, in one of his hands a small sphere of blue-white energy was condensing rapidly. "You're all dead" Vegeta laughed, throwing the ball high into the air where after a few seconds it flew beyond Tien's line of sight, so missing Tien by a long-shot.

"You missed" Tien said, smirking.

Vegeta seemed to be concentrating at staring at the sky above " never said I was aiming for you Three-Eyes" the Saiyan retorted.

Gohan, fully healed and full of energy arrived before Goku and glared at Vegeta, the young boy's face marred by loathing and hatred. "This is for Mr. Piccolo" Gohan roared, throwing his hands out before him "MASENKO-HA". The yellow blast slammed into Vegeta head-on, the area around Vegeta now covered in dust.

Tien peered through the dust, trying to see what had happened to the Prince of all Saiyans...could Vegeta finally have succumbed to his wounds. He saw Goku flying above the dust and then he saw Goku pale "oh Kami" Goku whispered, looking like the world was about to end. Tien heard a deep menacing rumble of laughter, sounding animalistic in nature and then the smoke cleared and Tien felt like the world was in slow motion.

Vegeta was gone and had been replaced by a hulking, monstrous, titanic beast who wore Vegeta's torn armour and spandex. The beast's feral blood red eyes promised death and destruction to the entire Earth. "Grandpa...I'm so sorry" Goku whispered, Tien didn't know what Goku was talking about but he knew that they had to stop Vegeta.

Tien tried to reach Enlightenment but found he was too drained to tap into the new immense power he had discovered, beside him Gohan seemed to be paralyzed in fear or shock. Tien rose to float beside Goku and there was a short pause as the beast that was Vegeta seemed to be sizing down the Z-Fighters.

"Goku I think we can win this" Tien began to formulate his plan quickly "sure this... massive ape looks tough and his power level is off the charts but it's just a dumb animal, we hit hard and fast from all angles and we can do this" he finished on a positive note and Goku slowly nodded.

Both were shocked when the beast spoke "Dumb animal, hah" Vegeta spoke in a rough, deep rumbling voice "this is no dumb animal, this is the power of the Saiyan race...bask in the presence of the Oozaru"!

"...Ok Goku he isn't a brainless animal but he can't be fast at that size" Tien said after a few moments " if we constantly move around him, blasting him with ki I think we might be able to win". As they planned Vegeta just watched, seemingly amused at their plans.

The two Z-fighters moved to either side and blasted towards the Prince of all Saiyans who just laughed as they began to fire ki blasts, then out of the blue whipped his hands out towards Goku and caught him.

"Of course he has to be fast as well" Tien shouted in frustration as Vegeta began to squeeze Goku, laughing in sadistic glee. He could hear the sound of Goku's bone's snapping.

"KAIO-KEN TIMES FOUR" Goku roared in agony, trying to squirm his way out of the goliath's hands. After a painful hard long squeeze the red aura died and Goku returned to his base power.

Tien flew right into Vegeta's ape-like face and pointed his hands towards his eyes "take this Saiyan" Tien announced "Solar Flare". The blinding white light made the Oozaru reel backwards, loosening his hands impulsively to rub his eyes. Goku fell to the ground below and lay there broken and bloody.

Goku below was saying something to the shell-shocked Gohan which spurred the boy into action. Gohan flew off into the air, not running away but more like one would search for something valuable.

Vegeta blinked a few times and then growled "you will pay for that". Tien tried to dodge the punch that followed the statement but the giant furred fist just about hit Tien, Tien now breathless was flung into a nearby cliff. The force behind the punch causing the cliff to crumble and collapse.

Tien groaned and rose back into the air and noticed a prime opportunity to attack. "Dodonray" he announced, quickly firing the attack into the beat's open mouth and down it's throat.

Vegeta immediately stopped his laughter and instead opened his mouth as far as it would go. A humongous beam of blue energy erupted from the Oozaru's open maw and headed towards Tien. Tien blasted himself to the side to avoid the blast and used the dust that had been kicked from the blast to catch his breath.

Tien quietly flew behind the beast, making sure he wasn't seen and began to charge up an attack. "TRI-BEAM HAA" Tien roared as his golden attack smashing through a chunk of armour and spandex, only at that stage to burn out and only singe a few hairs. Vegeta turned and slammed his fist into Tien.

"D-Damn it" he gritted out as his body slammed into the dirt and dust once more, he once again forced his tired and bruised body to stand. Above him the Saiyan Prince was laughing again at Tien's misfortune. Tien desperately tried to power up again but failed again.

Then distantly he heard Gohan fire his Masenko-Ha and then Vegeta screamed "NOOOO" and Tien watched as the Saiyan miraculously began to shrink and loss his fur. Then it clicked, Goku had told Gohan to look for the ball of energy that Vegeta had fired before he transformed.

Tien felt himself smirking as a normal and bloody Vegeta sank to his knees, it seemed Vegeta's old injuries had returned to plague him. "D-D-Damn you Triclops" the Prince of all Saiyan whispered.

"We did it Chiaotzu" Tien said with a smile "we won".


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Note:The next chapter of Enlightenment is here ladies and gentlemen.

Tien felt elated as he watched the Saiyan Prince struggle to even breath. It seemed almost impossible for Tien to see the most powerful warrior he had ever fought reduced to this bloody heap. Tien's old training resurfaced in his mind and the Triclops had to clench his fist to stop himself lashing out at Vegeta.

_-flashback-_

_Tien Shinhan's face broke into a grin as he kicked Tao out of the makeshift ring, no words could describe it...he had beaten him finally. A steady drip of crimson blood was falling down Tien's face, his vision slightly blurred from the red splotches occasionally hitting his eyes. Rain pelted down from dark storm clouds above and the wet ground had nearly cost him the fight._

_Tien watched as Tao raised himself onto one knee, truth be told Tien didn't know what to do next. He had never won one of their so called spars, if you could call them that. To Tien they were simply beat downs, a statement his protesting body would always agree with afterwards. _

_Tien glanced at Master Shen who was watching form the sidelines, trying to gauge what he should do from his masters facial expression. The fact that Mater Shen had one of the best poker faces Tien had every seen made that task impossible, Tien sighed and spoke "...Mater Shen are we finished?"._

_Master Shen slowly shook his head "no Tien not just yet...you have great potential but I am not sure on one thing". Tien waited for his Master to continue, his Mater loved to add pregnant pauses in his speeches as it was supposed to create tension apparently. "You show mercy Tien" his Mater said bluntly " you are a great con artist but in your fights you hesitate at times" Shen elaborated "it's the main reason you lose"._

_Before Tien could think of a retort Shen calmly pointed to the now standing Tao and fired a quick Dodonray at his brother. The blinding yellow beam slammed into Tao's face, the warrior crumbling to the ground in surprise. "Tien" his Mater said calmly, as if he hadn't just attacked his own flesh and blood "Break his legs"._

"_M-master Shen2 he said in shock "you just...you-"_

"_DID I STUTTER BRAT BREAK HIS LEGS" Shen roared at his student as the rain pelted down,like angels tears._

_-end flashback_

Ten years ago he wouldn't have had a second thought about slowly snapping his enemies bones,one at a time but that was before he met Son Goku.. Goku had always preached about compassion and giving second chances but oh Kami it was hard to remember that while looking down at the Saiyan Royal. To give the man in charge of Chiaotzu killer a second chance seemed to be going against his gut instinct.

Not to mentoin the giant Zenkai boost Vegeta would receive if he survived and left Earth, what would stop Vegeta would returning more powerful then ever before? It just didn't seem to be the smart choice...but neither had being sparing Piccolo at the 23rd WMAT but Piccolo had become an invaluable ally since.

Tien came to his decision, letting out a long sigh as he did "give me one good reason I should let you live". Vegeta struggled to one knee and glared at Tien with a look of pure loathing. etched onto his face.

"F-fuck you human" was the Prince's instant reply.

"That wasn't a very good reason" Tien retorted, cupping his hands around his eyes "Solar Flare" he roared. The blinding white light burst into existence and momentarily blinded the wounded Saiyan.

"The green fighter...he was a Namekian...from the Planet Namek...they have Dragon balls...you can wish back your friends" Vegeta said, gasping for breath.

"If you've lied to me Saiyan" Tien threatened "I would pray that I never run into you again". Tien walked away, not looking back at his wounded foe.

As he walked away he heard the sound of the Saiyan pod blasting away into space and seconds later Gohan landed beside him. He had his beaten father slung over his shoulder, visibly struggling with the weight of the Saiyan." Gohan" Tien said kindly "let me carry your father".

"But you're hurt too Mr. Tien" Gohan protested.

"Not as much as Goku" Tien retorted "besides the others are nearly here, I can feel their ki's approaching".

Gohan gasped in shock and happiness "my Mom is with them" . The boy cheered and put down his father before running off,probably scanning the horizon for the ship.

With a grunt Tien hoisted his friend over his shoulder and began to walk to where Gohan was running. "You've got a polite boy Goku" Tien said,striking up conversation.

"Don't I know it" Goku said with a pained laugh.

They walked in silence for another few seconds before Tien spoke again "It's been one hell of a ride Goku hasn't it".

"Yeah but I wouldn't have it any other way" was the Earth-raised Saiyan's response.

As they crossed the next ridge they saw Gohan standing in a clearing and a large ship descending down above him. The others had arrived.

The ship descended down and as soon as the large doors opened a young woman leaped out, Tien automatically felt his body tense and adopt a defensive pose, hindered by the fact that he was carrying Goku before he realised it was only Chi-Chi. The young mother was holding Gohan and sobbing into her son's chest but completely ignoring the husband she hadn't seen in over a year, that bemused Tien greatly.

Next Korin, Roshi and...oh Kami Bulma. The brilliant inventor's aqua hair was a mess and her eyes were red and puffy, she ran over to Tien and spoke "tell me he's okay Tien, please tell me that the TV reporter was wrong and that he's okay".

Tien's guilty silence was the only answer she needed and the heiress broke down then and there, crying in the dirt.


	5. Chapter 5

Authors Note: Sorry about this chapter in advance guys, my lack of enthusiasm shone through and the chapter is kinda meh. On the plus side I go further into Tien's back-story. Hope everybody has a great New Years. Also new cover image! Do you guys prefer the old one or this one? On a final note I have a poll on my profile about whether or not Tien should be in a relationship with Launch now or later on, please vote.

Tien still felt like he was on cloud nine as he tried to sleep on the hospital bed, King Kai had,earlier, confirmed Vegeta's statement about Namek. They had Dragon Balls and they could use them to wish everybody back to life. "You'll be back before you know it Chiaotzu" Tien said to the empty air.

The hospital room was empty except for the three patients and Chi-Chi, who refused to leave the hospital until Gohan was discharged. The bald Triclops still didn't know why Goku and Gohan were so afraid of angering the Ox Princess , he supposed it was just a woman thing. His train of thought lead him to think of his old friend Launch.

He was slightly scared of blonde Launch in all honesty, but nowhere near the fear Goku displayed. Launch...she still hadn't visited him in the hospital, he wished she had. He really wished she had, if only so he could tell her of poor Chiaotzu's fate.

The problem being that Launch was too weak, her ki was too hard to pinpoint from the rest of the Human race. He just would have to hope that Launch went to visit someone in the gang before they went off to Namek.

A faint moan caused Tien to twist his aching body to stare at the youngest fighter who had helped with the Saiyan invasion. Gohan's forehead was beaded with sweat and the young son of Goku was twisting and turning in his sleep. "Mr. Piccolo? Wake up Mr. Piccolo" Gohan muttered in his sleep.

Tien wasn't quite sure how to deal with the situation but he knew someone who would. "Chi-Chi" he called out to the sleeping woman "Gohan's in trouble". As Tien was hoping the words "Gohan" and "trouble" woke the woman from her light slumber.

The young mother rushed to her son's bedside and began to comfort the Demi-Saiyan, sure Chi-Chi had her faults but she honestly cared about Gohan.

In that respect Gohan was lucky, even though the boy had already suffered more than most would in a lifetime he still had a family that loved and cherished him. More then Tien had had at his age.

_-flashback-_

_Tien's battered body ached with every step he took towards the Crane School, the cold aching winds biting into the young boys skin. The bald Triclops needed to meet Master Shen soon...the sooner he arrived the sooner he could start down the path to avenge his people._

_Images of the night before flashed through his mind, images of burning huts and the raiders menacing laughter...images of bodies stacked upon bodies,blood flowing down the raiders swords and down the dirt path through the village. _

_Tien shook his head, trying to shake the images that were etched into his memory out of his head. "Just keep walking" Tien repeated the mantra in his head and outloud as he walked down the mountainous path towards where his momma had told him the Crane School was located._

_Tien was hopeful that his momma still lived, strangely enough it seemed that the raiders had spared most of the women and taken them with them...Tien's momma had been among the taken. Why they had been taken Tien didn't know but the fact they still lived kept Tien walking, his people weren't all dead and Tien could grow strong and save them._

_A building appeared on the horizon and Tien quickened his pace into a sprint Minutes later he arrived at the building, which he now recognised as a Dojo, and nervously rapped his knuckles against the sliding door. A second later the door opened and Tien found himself face-to-face with Master Shen. "Yes?" the master of martial arts said,briskly._

"_I-I need to become stronger" Tien blurted out._

_Shen's eyes looked over the young boy before speaking "what would you sacrifice for power boy?"._

"_Anything" Tien replied without thinking._

_His new master nodded slowly "what is your name child?" he questioned._

"_My name is Tien Shinhan and I'm six years ol-" a slap to the face interrupted Tien's reply and sent the boy tumbling to the ground._

"_I did not ask for your age Tien" Master Shen replied angrily and after a second of silence continued like nothing had happened "welcome to the Crane School Tien Shinhan"._

_-end flashback-_

A noise brought Tien back out from his memories and he looked across the room to see Chi-Chi rising from her son's bedside, she nodded gratefully towards Tien and returned to her chair. Within seconds she had succumbed to exhaustion and Tien was the only one left awake.

Tien turned and stared at the last fighter who had fought against the Saiyans, Goku. Goku was in a full-body cast and had Iv drips attached to his body. There was no way that Goku would be up for Namek.

That would leave Tien, someone to fly the ship, probably Bulma, and providing Chi-Chi allowed it Gohan. Even though Tien had been unconscious when Gohan had been fighting he was more than sure that the boy was a capable fighter, something the Earth was lacking in at the moment.

He rolled around in the bed to try and get more comfortable and closed all three of his eyes. Tien's last conscious thought was "I'll see you soon Chiaotzu".


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: The last of the chapters before they set off for Planet Namek. Hope you all enjoy and I'd appreciate if you could give me a review on where you think I'm going right and wrong. We also get to see how Chiaotzu has been faring in Other World.**

Tien's body flowed into yet another kata "306" he muttered quietly. The sun beat down on his bare back , Tien inhaled a lungful of crisp ocean air as he performed another kata."307" he whispered.

Tien stopped for a moment to give his muscles a rest, letting the sounds of the crashing waves and the cry of seagulls reach his ears. His feet moved through the warm sand as his began yet another kata.

However, before he could continue the smell of lunch came out the window and across the sand towards him. Tien stopped and grabbed his white t-shirt and his green boots from the sand before heading inside.

Tien opened the screen door to the pink house and entered the hallway. He turned into the kitchen and pulled out a chair at the table. "Roshi" he nodded to the man at the stove, the Turtle Hermit turned around and grinned at him.

"Hope you like soup Tien" Master Roshi grinned at him "all I can cook, besides toast".

After a non-fulfilling bowl of soup Tien went back outside to train, "1" he announced as he started another kata. His mind wandered as he trained.

Namek was swiftly approaching, the spaceship was nearly finished. Soon he, Bulma and Gohan would leave Earth. He had decided to spent his last few days at Kame House, in the hopes that Launch would find her way to her old home. He had to tell her about Chiaotzu's demise.

She deserved to find out from him, but it looked like she wasn't going to come to Kame House. He sighed and counted his latest kata "36". He just couldn't concentrate on his martial arts , maybe he would fare better with meditation .

He sat down on the sand and crossed his legs, he closed all three of his eyes and inhaled through his nose. A sudden cold wind blew in from the sea and through the island with a howl, it seemed a storm was coming.

He breathed in again and listened to nothing but the rhythm of his breathing. Slowly,but surely, a white aura began to form around the Triclops's body. His power climbed upwards and upwards and his muscles clenched, trying to keep control of his power. Little grains of sand floated the air around him, his breathing became ragged and uneven as he finished the transformation.

There was crackle of thunder, a flash of lightning, and rain began to pour. It just minutes it had changed from a sunny day into a stormy evening. Tien opened his eyes and slowly stood up,the feeling of great power pulsing in his veins. He clenched and unclenched his fists,breathed in deeply and tried to relax..

He had to make this power an extension of his normal power, the power in it's current state was too draining on the body and took too long to achieve. He tried to bring his memories back to his early childhood and the legends that were bedtime stories.

All he could he remember is that it was a huge power-booster that took a great toll on the body...unless one mastered the skill of enlightenment. However no matter how many times he thought back to the dim memories of his young childhood he couldn't remember how it was mastered.

Tien sighed and decided, enlightenment wouldn't be mastered on this day. He had tomorrow to try again, but he doubted he would master it tomorrow either. The bald Triclops grunted and raised his power to the maximum. He raised his hand towards the ocean, jutting two of his fingers out from his fist.

"DODONRAY" Tien screamed, letting out all of his power in one attack. Every last dreg of power was thrown into the bright yellow attack, which erupted across the stormy ocean until it went out of sight. Tien collapsed to his knees, panting loudly, back in his base form.

He heard the screen door of Kame House open with a loud slam that echoed around the island, "Tien are you alright?" Master Roshi questioned him, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling upwards at the same time. Tien felt dizzy but he found his footing all the same and shrugged the Turtle Hermit's hand off his shoulder.

"I was just training Roshi, I'm sorry if I scared you" Tien said, in-between lungfuls of air. He turned to face the man who had invented the kamehameha wave "I'm fine". Both martial artists re-entered Master Roshi's home. After another bowl of soup, this one accompanied by toast, Tien retired to the guest room to take a nap.

"Chiaotzu " he vowed "I promise you that you'll be home soon, very soon". Tien turned off the lamp and sighed. He wondered how his old friend was faring at the moment.

-line break-

"We've arrived!" yelled Krillin from the front of the group. The news was followed by a grunt of acknowledgement from Piccolo and an excited whoop from Yamcha. Because he was at the back of the group Chiaotzu was the last to catch sight of the small green planet at the end of Snake Way.

With renewed vigour the Z-Fighters leaped from the walkway onto the planet. It had been a long and hard journey but they had done it. King Kai's planet was just ahead of them. Training could begin at last. Their stay with King Kai had to begun. "I've done it Tien" Chiaotzu thought as he landed on the grass, the last to do so.

Ahead of them...stood a monkey? "Goku never mentioned that King Kai was a monkey" Yamcha commented after a long drawn out silence. The simian King Kai answered with a grunt and some ah-ah noises.


End file.
